Stanton, Iowa: Stanton Friends share new building renderings, floor plans, and its vision to the community on April 14, 2010 in a public meeting. Stanton Iowa will soon have a facility that will give new life to the area and provide benefits for all residents in the community. The 25,350 square foot $ 2.8 million Viking Center will house the Good Shepherd Preschool, Stanton Public Library, wellness center, gymnasium and a storm shelter- which residents feel are the most pressing needs.

The Center will provide a permanent space for the preschool and after school programs. The new facility will provide additional opportunities for students such as the library, activity facilities, shared food program and kitchen area and relieve a number of barriers such as fire code and transportation of students.

The facility will also provide a modern, handicapped accessible location for an expanded library-learning center. With the library located within the center lending itself to be very accessible to the preschool, Stanton Community School District students, and the community, the end result will be an increase in the public library usage and its ability to offer more services to the students and the community.

Having a wellness center for our community will make us happier, healthier and stronger. It will provide just what we need to produce a better quality of life for all ages. A weight room and a walking track will promote a healthier lifestyle for all. The community has one school gymnasium, which is continually booked with elementary, middle school, and high school activities. Even these activities require tight scheduling to accommodate practices, games, musical concerts, plays, community events, etc. Adding a second gymnasium will provide adequate facilities to hold activities such as tournament play and a gym to be used for additional recreation purpose for the community.

A much needed 5,168 sq ft FEMA approved tornado safe room will also be included that will protect 623 residents and students during inclement weather. This along with the peace of mind that when bad weather approaches, our preschool, students, and residents would be sheltered in a very safe place.

Stanton Friends has the culmination of more than two years of intensive planning and community needs assessment. Volunteers have carefully considered multiple sites during their search for the Viking Center. The location site is the property adjacent to the school which is on Elliott Street. In addition to the feasibility study, hiring a grant writer and architect, Stanton Friends researched the experiences of other community centers built in other small communities around Iowa.

We are taking great strides in reaching our $2.8 million capital campaign goal. We have raised over $750,000, and continue to research grant agencies and charitable foundations. A community portion of the capital campaign is truly the piece of this fundraising effort. Reaching our goal, one dollar at a time, we can not emphasize the importance of making a pledge, big or small, to help make this vision a reality. To make a pledge or donation you may download a form from our website www.stantonfriends.org

We encourage you to stay up to date on the progress of the Viking Center and its sprint toward the finish line on this monumental effort. The most current news, fundraising tally, programming, and construction planning is at www.stantonfriends.org. For more information contact us at stantonfriends@myfmtc.com.

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The Stanton Friends Steering Committee has been very busy this summer and fall. Among several meetings, grant writing, architect plans, and so on, we have had the opportunity to experience some exciting events and fundraisers that happened in Stanton. Stanton Friends met over 20,000 visitors during Ragbrai. We also are thankful for a wonderful fundraiser that the Stanton Care Center did for us that involved the entire community. Coupled with these, we are continuing to participate in Stanton's Homecoming, Trick or Treat on the Trail, and other community events.

We think we have made great strides toward the planning, fund raising, and design of this multipurpose facility. During the many months of planning and decision making, we are pleased to present the new proposed model with modifications to the site plan. We have reduced the size of the center from 36,300 square feet to 24,418 square feet; thereby reducing the construction costs from $4.8 million to $2.8 million. This change will result in the elimination of the daycare center from the building. It will continue to house the Good Shepherd Preschool, library, wellness center, gymnasium and storm shelter-which residents feel are the most pressing needs. This change was made in an effort to make the project more affordable and viable for Montgomery County residents.

The location of the Viking Center has been a continued challenge for the building this size to accommodate the desires of the community. The original proposed location of the Viking Center was the property west of the Stanton Community School property. The new plans will relocate the facility to the property southwest of the school which is on Elliott Street. The new site plan will still have the same benefits.

Just to name a few, site benefits are:

• Safety of the students not having to cross any major streets and intersections arriving and departing.
• Preschool sharing of school lunch program and kitchen facilities.
• The sharing of the wellness center with the Stanton Community School.
• During weekend tournaments, the Stanton Friends and Schools Gyms can be shared.
• An extra gym will allow for flexible scheduling of practices, games and play for all ages.
• Library resources can be shared with school and residents. Library usage would increase.
• 28e agreement with Stanton Friends, School and City of Stanton would be implemented.

The effort of working with the residents in Stanton will help us complete our goals and make our vision a reality. We are confident that with all the volunteers and dedication combined with the good will of our community, we will effectively communicate our vision and revised project plans for support to those who can see the campaign to a successful conclusion.

How:

1. Take a "Striding to Improve" sheet from the envelope on the bulletin board at the end of the hallway near Mr. Subbert and Ms. Vogel's rooms.
2. Make certain your name is on it, and record how many mile(s) you walk each day (have some teammates with you, so your miles get multiplied). Eleven laps equal one mile.
3. After filling in your mileage, put it in the envelope marked "Log My Miles."
4. You will have your own thumbtack on the map of Iowa. The map will be filled in weekly to see your progress and the progress of others.

The program will run from February 1nd through April 23th. Please contact Stanton Friends to sign up your team at stantonfriends@myfmtc.com, and your team will be added to the map. You may also participate individually. Feel free to specify a goal of where on the map you would like to get to by April 23th. (I would guess Mickey's team will be trying to walk to Lincoln). Maybe your team would like to try to walk to Jamaica! Iowa that is!

For questions regarding Stanton Friends and this new opportunity to improve your health please call Jake Nimrod, Barb Allen @ 621-4057, or Mickey Anderson @ 370-0037. Our thanks to Steve Johnson, Jerry Gilliland, John & Grace Schultz, Stephanie Parsons & Christi Elwood who will be walking the hallways with you! See you on the loop!